Vampy-Wampy
by OtterOuji
Summary: A world much like Remnant except instead of Grimm there are classic monsters, none more feared than the Vampire. But are they really as bad as the stories say?
1. Chapter 1

Here it is, the first ch of the Vampire AU. This was originally going to be a one shot . . . BUT I had a little too much to say and some writers block . . . SO ch 2 soon. Enjoy~ 

Vampy-Wampy 

'Our world is a dangerous place; we live in a time fought with danger at every turn. Monsters run wild and the few human strongholds are never completely secure. That is why we exist, the Order of the Huntsmen and Huntresses. We exist to protect the people from the creatures that go bump in the night.' This motto was taught to all young warriors entering into one of the four main training institutions where they would polish their skill, learn about the different foes they'd face, and how best to walk away alive and still human. But with every 'school' there are always troublemakers.

A loud crash echoed though the old castle halls breaking the whispering wind's silence followed by the faint sound of a woman's voice, "oops." This isolated castle, which has stood for hundreds of years lay far off the beaten path, nestled deep in an ancient forest, nearly forgotten by time. It has seen more damage in the last month than in the last two hundred years. All this destruction could be traced back to one young soul.

"Nora?"  
"Hi Ren~!"  
"What happened this time?"  
"So you know how we have a ballroom?"  
"Yes."  
"And you know how there is a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling?"  
"The ornate chandelier capable of holding over one hundred candles that was a gift from a foreign dignitary upon the wedding of the former lord of this castle six hundred years ago?"  
"Well good news! That is completely fine~! The window on the other hand . . . "  
"Sigh, which window?"  
"The large colorful one."

"I'll get a broom."

This makes the fifth window Nora has broken in the past month, second of the decorative stain glass windows, irreplaceable with the artisan now long dead. The energetic woman has broken three chairs, two beds, one ornate armoire, two mirrors, six doors, one couch, an end table, and four candelabras all in the span of two weeks.

"Ren why do you stay in this dusty old place?"

"Hmm?  
"I mean it's practically falling apart."

"It'd be in better shape if someone could control themselves better."  
"Ehh hee, sorry Ren~."  
"Sigh, it's okay Nora."

With a grin that could light any room, how could Ren stay mad at her? It had been a long time since he had such 'excitement' in his life and honestly it wasn't all bad. Nora began helping him pick up the pieces of her latest accident.

()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()

Three months ago in a little village in the middle of nowhere, the people happily welcomed a passing huntress into their village. It was then that she was told of the recent monster attacks that had occurred to their young maidens. After hearing of the villagers' plight the young huntress eagerly volunteered to lend her aid. For the next four nights she stood guard waiting for the perpetrator to make an appearance, and on the fifth night it struck. By this time the young huntress was weak from staying up every night that week and from the growing emptiness in her stomach. Once a scream rang out over the quite moonlight the huntress jumped into action, and rushed towards the sound of the scream. At that moment she caught the silhouette of a figure in the moonlight and dashed after it.

()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()

"Wha, huh? Where am I?"

"You're in an old hunting cabin." Said a voice through the darkness. A figure was barely visible from the glow of a single candle in the far corner of the room. "I found you unconscious in the woods." Suddenly a fire came to life on the cabin's hearth. Just as the huntress tried to sit up, a sudden pain coming from her foot caused her to wince. "You shouldn't move, you hurt your ankle."

"Who . . ." As soon as the young huntress spoke, the rumble of her stomach rose up in the silence to interrupt her. The young man only gave a passing glance to the girl before returning to his business. The man's clothes glowed green in the firelight. He had long hair tied back in a tail at the base of his neck and what she though was a streak of pink in his hair. He and his clothes looked out of place in the run down cabin.

A few quick glances reviled her weapon to be at her bedside, and the cabin itself to be rather quaint. A small fireplace at one end with a few basic cooking utensils decorating the wall, dried herbs filled the empty space. A small stool, that supported the strange man who hunched over the fire, went with an equally small worktable against the adjacent wall under the window. The only other piece of furniture was the bed opposite the fireplace framing it's own wall, the animal pelts that acted as blankets and the side table next to the bed. While lost in thought the young man had finished his work and sat a plate down next to the young woman. Instantly her mouth flooded at the smell. "Pancakes~?!"

"Eat, you must be hungry." The woman's eyes begged the question, 'What ever gave you that idea'. Her eyes had to ask it because her mouth was already stuffed with the food. With a soft sigh, barely audible but still with a touch of warmth, the man answered the question she could not ask. "Your stomach has been growling non stop. I nearly mistook it for a wild beast."

"Well I have gone two days without eating~" she said as if it were a normal thing to do. "By the way I'm Nora, what's your name?" With her hand stretched out, and her plate empty, the girl's friendliness was nearly infectious.

"If you get some rest I'll tell you in the morning." And with that he took her plate and returned to his stool. In the morning the man was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Soooooo . . . . Took a lot longer than I intended. Life and RWBY Vol 4 were big distractions, BUT we are back with more story. I'll try to update more often (at least long enough to get some more characters showing up) So thank you to all who stick with me and welcome back to all who followed my little story. Who do you think will be monsters and what kinds? Let look forward to the future together. Now on with the show~ 

_CH 2 The morning after_

'THAT JERK! When, why, who?!' These questions repeated in a never-ending cycle through Nora's mind.

"umm miss Valkyrie, " a small voice brought the young huntress back to reality, "are you feeling any better?" It had been four days since Nora had taken off after the shadowy figure and woken up in the run down cabin where she met the mysterious man in green after injuring her ankle. When she had woken up the next morning the man was gone with no trace but the plate she had eaten off of. She was furious that he had vanished without any word, but more angry at herself for not being able to get the shadowy image of his face lit by the feint glow of the fire light out of her mind. Still she had managed to hobble her way through the forest, find a road and return to the village in one day.

With a playful ruffle of the child's hair she answered, "Of course I am, I'm a professional huntress after all!" The bright smile and show of confidence seemed to reassure the child. A little lie never hurt, she was still in training, the best training is in the field right? Nora was lucky to have come across such a kind village. More often than not failure was met with blame and ridicule, though such gazes weren't absent behind her back. However the people were kind enough to not only welcome her back and treat her wounds, but after hearing of how little she had eaten while on watch they practically forced food down her throat. This is a warm village Nora thought to herself, and the urge to help these people only grew.

She had not caught whatever creature had appeared that night, and after all their kindness she wasn't leaving until she did. Luckily there had been no attacks since then, but it was only a matter of time. Nora had recovered completely and she was ready to follow a lead. While returning from the cabin she had stumbled upon what looked like towers to a castle or fort of some kind in the woods. When she questioned the townspeople about it no one seemed to even know of its existence. A perfect place for a monster to hide she thought. The following morning at daybreak she set off to explore the mysterious building.

()~~~()~~~()~~~()~~~()

It was well past noon and she still hadn't found her target. "Those towers weren't this far, . . . were they?" Nora hopelessly asked no one in particular. Just when she was about to turn around the growl of her stomach suggested a break for lunch. After finding a nice boulder to use as a seat she happily unwrapped her modest meal. While lost in thought she gazed up at the sky, the warm summer sun peering through the green tree branches reminded her of the mysterious longhaired man. Who was he, why was he in the forest that night, where did he go, how did he make those tasty pancakes? As the drool began trailing down her chin she reached for some jerky only to find it was not in front of her.

"Get back here you pilfering fox!" and the two darted off blindly into the forest; the fox fast in the lead with Nora hot on his tail, no pun intended. A stray branch caught the girl's shirt jerking her back, nearly chocking her in the process. Good thing it did, for only a few feet further lay a massive cliff, and on it's opposite side lay the only good news she had gotten in a week. "Finally found it." That fox had led her right to the two towers she sought, and the castle they belonged to. 'Is that a castle, it looks like a castle. It'd be nice to live in a castle, I could be queen of my own castle!' So many thoughts ran through the red head's mind except the most important one, how to get over to it.

An easy answer really, or it is thanks to her trusty partner. One could say just as hunting monsters was a unique profession to all hunters and huntresses, so too were the weapons they used and Nora's was no different. She carried a giant war hammer with the ability to transform into a more convenient travel friendly version capable to shooting exploding projectiles with enough force to send most people flying; or in this case one woman soring over a gorge. With a loud bang and the rustling of trees she sored through the sky towards the castle, towards a window, and through a wall. If there were anything the huntress could boast about it was her durability. She shook off the rubble and began operation, 'Explore the secret castle hidden in the woods!"


	3. Chapter 3

Vampy-Wampy ch 3

After exploring the 'Secret Castle' for two hours Nora was sure of one thing, this place was a dump. Like any forgotten structure the place had fallen victim to time. Mortar was cracked between the cobblestone walls; spider webs decorated corners in ceilings and doorways. It hadn't looked like thieves had visited the place as not only was there still furniture in most rooms, but even paintings still interrupted the boring pattern of the walls. Worst of all, Nora thought, everything was covered in dust. With nearly every step she took more dust flew up off the gray carpet. Was it gray, or was it just that dusty? She was so preoccupied with exploring every dark room that she hadn't noticed the setting sun or the rising moon.

"Ugh this place is filthy! I'm going to need a bath when I finish here. That makes, what now . . . fifteen, twenty rooms?" Thirty-two rooms and nary any sign of life, the young huntress was beginning to have doubts. Just then a loud clatter caught her attention. "Of course, I've only explored the second floor!" Dashing out of the room she met with an unexpected sight. The light of the full moon shown in through a hole in the celling illuminating the hall and reflecting off the dust filled air. "Oh crud."

Back at the academy one of the fundamental lessons involved never engaging any creatures at night without careful planning and reliable teammates; for not only are the more fearsome monsters nocturnal, the most dangerous creatures can be found on the night of the full moon. Here Nora was, unfamiliar terrain, no plan, no idea what she was up against, and no partner. The worst of worst situations and she would be the new example of what NOT to do, once they find her body of course; if they found her body. Suddenly Nora became hyper aware of her surroundings and very tense. A loud crash suddenly echoed throughout the empty building and in that split second she whipped around accidentally firing off her weapon, blasting a large opening into the adjacent room.

"It's nice to see you so healthy Miss."  
"Ahh It's you!" She exclaimed with her finger jabbing in the stranger's direction. Lit by the moonlight the mysterious figure took a step closer to the frightened Huntress through the new opening she had just created. That unusual green dress, long black hair with a streak of pink in it and that calm yet welcoming voice; Nora was sure this was the same man who helped her all those nights ago.  
"Don't do that!" she let out with a sigh, her weapon falling to her hip. She could see the puzzled look on his face so she answered. "Don't sneak up on me, I nearly killed you."  
"You'll have to try harder than that to kill me." The young man spoke, eyeing her attempt at remodeling.

"Was that a joke?" If it was Nora was not amused, not now.  
"Hmm, maybe." He turned to face the hole Nora had put in the wall mere seconds ago and for the first time she could get a good look at the man.

He was tall, taller than her, and she wore platforms. His hair was long too, not many men had hair long enough to tie into a horsetail and it looked oh so perfect on him; even tied back his hair still looked a little messy which Nora couldn't help but find cute. But the way the moonlight shimmered off it, like the finest of silk. And that stupid pink streak of hair, how it contrasted the rest only making it look more beautiful. To make matters worse his skin looked so smooth, almost porcelain but with a gentle kiss of sun. And those eyes, so distant, almost lonely, and such a pretty pink; they seemed to glow in the moonlight. 'It felt like he could see right through you with those eyes, those eyes, WAIT! Is he looking at me, am I looking at him, was I staring, oh dust oh dust oh dust!' Nora had been caught, not at all subtly, gazing at the young man who only raised a single eyebrow to her. Never in her life had she felt more embarrassed.


	4. Chapter 4

Vampy-Wampy ch 4

Since Ren had first welcomed Nora's company into his home there had been many 'accidents' thanks to the young energetic girl's antics. Her latest one had left an ancient stained glass window shattered on the floor of the castle's ballroom. The two had been cleaning nearly an hour and there was still plenty to do.

"Ren, I'm sorry."

"It's okay Nora." Picking up a large piece of the window Ren held it up towards the setting sun with a sullen look, the light illuminating his face in several different colors. "I'm used to it by now."  
"Still, I'm sorry. It seems like I just keep breaking things."  
"I have had to remove a lot of the furnishings since you arrived."  
"Hey, that's not funny." The two shared a smile and returned to their work.

They had been putting the pieces of shattered window onto a tarp and depositing the shards into a large storage bin in the basement . . . dungeon, dungeon basement? There were a lot of strange things down there, but Ren had forbidden Nora to explore until she had better control over her strength.

While absentmindedly picking up the shards the two found their hands meeting on the same shard of pink and green glass. Looking up, their faces almost too close, they became transfixed staring into each other's eyes. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the rest of the world faded away. "Ren . . ." A loud echoing knock broke them out of their trance. Who could it be, who even knew this building was here? The two waited a moment only to hear the doorknocker slam once more announcing their mysterious visitor's presence.

–thud thud thud-

"Maybe they'll just go away." Suggested Nora.

–thud thud thud-

"Maybe they'll break in like you." Retorted Ren.

"Hey, that was just the one time!" she yelled under her breath.

- **thud thud thud** -

"Either way we should probably see who it is before they break down the door."

At the grand entryway stood a large ornate oak door, easily towering over all who stood beneath it. The kind that makes one think, 'Who is this supposed to be for, a giant?' Across the surface of the intimidating structure, though beaten by the sands of time, intricate carvings decorated the wooden surface. Stories of grand battles where heroic knights fought demons and dragons would stand in one corner while tales of love and romance soothed another corner. Nora had often thought if they put that much work into the interior of the door, what'd the outside look like? Per Ren's advice they had avoided using the main entrance so the place would continue to look abandoned, but with Nora's recent accident it was no surprise that attention had fallen on their little hideout.

-thud thud thud-

With every knock, small clouds of dust rained down from the antique door and hung in the air revealing rays of sunlight darting through the entryway. Crouched they moved quietly towards the source of the knocking, the two skilled warriors surveying the situation.

"Pst. . . what do we do?!"

" . . . Answer the door?"  
"You're not helping!"

-thud thud thud-

"Hello? Is anyone there? " The muffled voice of a young girl finally broke through from the other side of the wooden barrier. " Hello? "

Upon hearing the girl's faint voice Nora stood up for her hiding spot behind a large pot where some long dead plant used to live. "Wait . . . I know that voice."  
"Nora please how could you possibly kno-"  
"RUBY, IS THAT YOU?!"

An overwhelming silence fell over the hall before the tiny voice broke throw the door once more. "y-yes, but how do you know my name?"

Before Ren could stop her, Nora rushed forth and easily threw open the large doors terrifying the small girl on the other side before both were coated with a dense layer of centuries old dust. The young girl wore a black dress; in fact most of her outfit was black in color. Though she wore a skirt Ren could see red frills poking out from underneath. He noticed her black corset was also laced up with red laces, though it was on backwards. Probably so she could lace it herself. At the end of her long black sleeves more red frills poked out; her legs were also covered in black stockings that vanished into dark men's boots. A red hooded cloak, well red before all the dust covered it, enveloped her whole outfit.

As the dust settled the two girls finished their coughing fit and could finally get a good look at each other. As the hooded girl took in Nora's form, her smile, her voice, she couldn't hold the tears back and jumped into her arms.

"NORA! I'm so lad you're all right! What happened to you, where have you been? We were all so worried; they told us you were dead!"

"Wait, wait what? They told you I was dead? What they didn't think I could handle myself?" How dare they, whomever they are, think the anyone could best the all powerful NORA' she scoffed to herself.

"Nora," the male's voice broke the two girls out of their joyous reunion. As he stood up, he brushed dust off his clothes. "Those doors have been sealed for more than two centuries, you need to be more careful."

"Whaaaaat? Come on they're fine. Pffft " No sooner did she dismiss the thought than one of the two doors came crashing down to the floor, splashing up another cloud of dust. Nora gave her best 'innocent' smile but Ren just stared at her with his usual blank face; though Nora knew he was thinking 'I told you so'. "I'm sure that'll buff right out." She reassured him.

"Umm Nora, who is your . . . friend?" Ruby not so subtly pointing in the unknown man's direction.

"OH Ruby let me introduce you to Ren, he's mysterious~"  
"Ladies, perhaps we could continue introductions after fixing the entryway, and a little freshening up."  
"Uhh yeah, a bath sounds nice. And umm sorry about the door."  
"That's alright miss, Ruby was it?" With a tired look on his face Ren let out a deep sigh. "Besides it isn't the first thing Nora has blessed with her own 'special' kind of touch."

Ruby, leaning in to whisper to Nora, "How much stuff did you break?"  
Nora whispering back, "I didn't break that much."

_

To those who have followed this story I would like to appologize for taking so long to upload. I know this has mainly been Ren and Nora but I hope to start introducing more of the characters and work on world building. It will continue to mainly focus on Renora and their interactions with the other people. If you've enjoyed this ch then I hope you'll stick around for the next one. (hopefully won't be in a year.)


	5. Chapter 5

So sorry all for how long this ch has taken to get out. I had much of it written for a while but damn that writers block. I like where this one ended and hope to start introducing more characters and expanding the story in the next chapter. In case no one has figured it out yet, Ren is a vampire. I know I know haven't had much Vampire stuff yet but hopefully soon.

Thank you all again for being patient with me and I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.

Vampy-Wampy ch 5

After freshening up from the unexpected dust shower caused by Nora's opening/ breaking of the main entrance doors, everyone agreed to gather in one of the many drawing rooms after freshening up. Much to Ruby's surprise the room looked far more modern than many of the other rooms and halls she had passed in the old building. This room actually looked lived in, not dilapidated in any way and was clean. There was a long red ornate couch with decorative oak wood trim, a matching love seat and a lounge chair that the mysterious greed clad man sat in. Though peeling, the walls had been painted with a warm caramel color. Beautifully carved wood trim framed all walls and lovely yet simple lamps decorated the room leaving everything in a warm glow. Between the three pieces of furniture centered in the room on top of a large area rug rested a well-polished wooden coffee table. Resting in the center of the table was an expensive looking tea set, steam still rising out of each of the three cups.

"So Ms. Rose, how do you and Ms. Valkyrie know each other?" The question finished by the sound of Ren's cup returning to it's matching plate with a barley audible clank before coming to a rest in his lap. The whole gesture was graceful and fluid, as one would expect from the air of elegance the man gave off.

"Oh well we both trained at Beacon, uhh Beacon Academy that is. " Ruby stammered out. Since her outfit was still drying by the time she had exited one of the Castle's washing chambers she currently found herself wearing the garments presented to her by Nora. Though she was a young woman of fifteen years she still held a smaller stature than many her age and the clothes she wore only made her look all the smaller with how baggy they fit. A white night gown that was long enough to drag on the floor and whose sleeves fell well past the young girl's hands adorned her body. She wore a red sash around her waist that showed off her slim figure; the gown was pulled up and drooped over the top of the sash far enough to reveal her bare feet and created an almost poufy skirt look to it. An orange and gold shawl drooped over her shoulders, which covered most of her upper body, finished off the outfit. Though she was covered Ruby still felt nervous and uneasy sitting in front of another without any undergarments on. Nora hadn't returned from her wash yet which left the two of them awkwardly alone together.

"Impressive," Ren remarked, taking another sip from his tea. "That academy is well known for taking in many promising youths and producing a plethora of talented Hunters and Huntresses."

"Thanks but it's not really that impressive. Everyone just works really hard." Ruby's eyes trailed down to the teacup she held resting in her lap, her melancholy reflection staring back at her.

"Nonsense, you must already be quite the capable fighter if you've been allowed to travel on your own at such a young age. There are many dangerous and intelligent beasts in the world that would jump at the chance to extinguish the flame of a promising huntress like yourself."

A bone-chilling shiver ran down the young girl's spine. She could have sworn she felt the menacing gaze of something dangerous; but after darting her eyes around the room the only gaze she could find came from the man across from her, the Mysterious man in green.

"Is something the matter Ms. Rose?" Ruby's eyes met with Ren's at his question and suddenly she felt her body stiffen. He was merely sitting in his chair, arms resting ever so gently in his lap, no sign of aggression or hostility but here she was unable to move. She was transfixed by his emotionless yet powerful stare. Suddenly Ruby realized she could barely breath. It was as though she were a small animal looking into the eyes of a predator, the eyes of death. As their gaze remained unbroken the rest of the world began to fall to darkness while his eyes seemed to glow a soft pink.

"Hey guys, what are you talking about?!" No sooner had Nora burst through the door and attained the attention of the room than Ruby found she was finally able to move and could catch her breath.

"Ms. Rose here was just telling me that the two of you met at Beacon Academy." And just like that, with Nora's mere presence all the tension in the room seemingly vanished in an instant. She had on an outfit quite similar to Ruby's, though she was able to fill it out much better than Ruby could.

"Geeze, I hope you haven't told him anything embarrassing. Like that one time when we released a wild boar in Professor Port's –"

"No no no," Ruby stammered out. Still uneasy from whatever it was that had just transpired. "I got here not long ago myself. I only had enough time to tell him where we met, and I thought we agreed never to talk about that again." That last line she whisper yelled at her dear friend. Despite the tense atmosphere Ruby was truly happy to finally be with a familiar and friendly face.

"I for one would quite enjoy hearing a few tales of your school days." The words came smoothly from behind the emerald clad man's cup. Ruby didn't dare look into his eyes again after what had happened, but his voice had a tinge of warmth with his request. The two girls exchanged glances before settling in to regale the man with the amazing tales of Nora and Ruby.

77777

Ruby had received her own room for the night. With her trusty Crescent Rose at her bedside she was able to rest with ease, actually getting to sleep on a real bed for a change didn't hurt either. Moonlight from the full moon pierced its way into the room through cracks in the wall and holes in the moth eaten curtains, inching slowly across the floor towards the bed. Each person had their own room and while Nora's bed looked like a mess from her tossing and turning. Ren on the other hand looked like a doll tucked into his own bed, unmoving and perfect.

A loud crash echoed through the eerily silent halls of the dilapidated building; startling awake the original master of this castle. He first hurries to Nora's room where he is both relieved and annoyed to find Nora still asleep despite having fallen out of bed, laying with her head on the floor and legs still on the mattress tangled within the beds sheets in a very unladylike manner. The sound of shattering wood echoed from down the hall and after waking the sleeping orange-headed lass the two of them hurried down to Ruby's room. Upon throwing open the door they found the room trashed, and what they hoped was Ruby thrashing around in a tangled ball of the bed's former sheets and canopy. Ren, fearing more that Nora would choose to attack before looking, held his friend at bay before carefully approaching the ball of cloth and attempting to untangle whatever had managed to get trapped inside. Nora, standing in the doorway, peered about the room now fully illuminated by moonlight for any sign of her spunky friend. In whatever had transpired several pieces of furniture had been knocked over, the bed frame destroyed, window curtains ripped off and all over the floor and walls were claw marks; marks Nora was sure weren't there when she had first shown Ruby to her room.

Just as Ren's hand reached the bundle, a clawed hand pierced through and nearly sliced across his nose. "Nora get back!" he screamed as another clawed hand aided the first in ripping open a hole big enough for the unknown creature to escape it's felt prison. No sooner had Ren finished his warning had the creature escaped and began darting around the room, taking swipes at Ren whenever he came into arms reach of the beast. Something red danced in the moonlight trailing after the creature as it zipped across the room faster than the eye could follow. While doing his best to doge the unknown beast's attacks, receiving many cuts and tears in his nightgown in the process, Ren was relieved to find Nora had taken off and was now safely out of danger.

"REN DUCK!" screamed a familiar voice. Immediately following the instruction Ren, who was leaning back after dodging another swipe of claws, quickly fell to the floor. Nora's beloved weapon Magnhild flew inches past Ren's nose as he fell, colliding with their intruder and sending it flying across the room. Had Ren been any slower he was sure his head would have been sent flying with it.

"Nora! That was very dangerous!" Scolded Ren as he returned to his feet.  
"We can't hurt her!" Exclaimed Nora, still clutching Magnhild as if she'd literally fight him over this.  
"Her, what do you mean, that creature?" He gestured to the new hole Nora had just created in the wall opposite them.  
"I know who she is." She pleaded.

"Oww" From the other side of the wall the faint voice of a young girl could be heard. "Oww my head, what happened . . . What happened to the wall?!"

A young girl's hand reached through the opening and pulled herself through. Upon closer inspection Ren noticed the hand had almost claw like nails, and his eyes widened when he saw the young lady the hand belonged to.

"RUBY! Thank goodness you're all right!" Nora exclaimed with vigor. "But what happened to you?"

"What do you mean, and whoa what happened to the room. It looks like a herd of beowolfs tore through here." Ruby was holding the front of her head as she carefully stepped through the hole and towards the other two, staggering with each step.

"You may not be far off Ms. Rose." Ren joked, something that caught Nora completely off guard. Ruby continued to look on with a quizzical stare. Nora, trying hard to hide a big smile behind her hand, pointed above her own head. Ruby repeated the gesture and reached above her own head. Her eyes widened in shock, not only were some of her questions instantly answered but she was filled with dread.

"Why do you have dog ears?!" Nora finally blurted out, unable to keep the laughter back any longer. It wasn't just the ears, both her hands and feet had talon like nails, her hair had grown well past her shoulders and beneath what remained of her nightgown was a long bushy tail. "Ruby, you are so cute!"

"Th- that's a long story." She stammered out. Ruby looked around the room full of dread knowing that she must have been the one to cause such havoc. When her silver eyes saw how torn up Ren's clothes had become, she felt even worse and began tightly gripping the gown at her stomach, as if that would help untangle this twisted unease she was feeling.

"For now," Started Ren, "why don't we continue this in another room after Ms. Rose has time to change. Nora could you fetch her another gown?" Only then had Ruby noticed the tatters her own outfit was left in. Holes, from her own claws no doubt, had been torn in the fabric revealing much of her pale skin. This realization cased the young girl to huddle in on herself to hide both her body and embarrassment. As she lay on the floor, knees to chest and arms wrapped around them with her new dog-ears' drooped down and tail wrapping around her form, Nora took one last worried look at her dear friend before hurrying off.

Stopping part way out the door Ren spoke to Ruby, though he didn't turn his head out of respect for her privacy his words didn't seem any less direct. "I certainly do hope you will tell us the full story Ms. Rose. It would be a shame to still keep secrets at this point." And with that he left the room, leaving Ruby cold, alone, and full of fear. As she sat there waiting for her friend to return and on the verge of tears, one phrase repeated in her head over and over again in a never-ending loop. 'Not again.'


End file.
